Xenosaga I & II
Xenosaga I & II | |
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Xenosaga I & II Boxart | |
Developer | Monolith Soft Tom Create |
Publisher | Namco |
Platform | Nintendo DS |
Release date | 30 March 2006 |
Xenosaga I & II (ゼノサーガI・II, Xenosaga I・II) is a role-playing video game developed by Monolith Soft and Tom Create and published by Namco. It was released in 2006 on the Nintendo DS exclusive to Japan. This game is a retelling of Episode I and Episode II.
Playable Characters[edit]
Guests[edit]
Story Differences[edit]
Much of the story dialogue remains identical to the narratives depicted in Episode I and Episode II. However, as this is a retelling, many changes are made throughout the story, either to accommodate the hardware restrictions of the Nintendo DS, to better fit the initial vision of the original games, or to add extra complexities to the original stories. Despite these additions, there are few, if any, inconsistencies with the general lore and backstories surrounding events described in the original stories.
Episode I changes[edit]
- Luis Virgil and a Realian named Alex accompany Shion and KOS-MOS in the Encephalon in the game's first chapter.
- The retrieval of the Zohar Emulator is depicted as a flashback in Andrew Cherenkov's nightmares.
- Shion befriends a Kirschwasser disguised as a 100-Series Observational Unit onboard the Woglinde. Shion gives her the name Cumin (can be renamed by the player) and the two are later separated. This new character plays a fairly significant role in the later sections of the Episode I segment.
- Ziggy's rescue mission on Pleroma is now an unlockable side story.
- Cherenkov's backstory is now unlocked as two different optional side stories. One that depicts the KOS-MOS Archetype's malfunction, and one that depicts Cherenkov's past before joining the U-TIC Organization.
- Jr.'s infiltration of the U-TIC battleship is now an unlockable side story.
- Patriarch Sergius XVII now appears in the Episode I segment. He is seen debating with a new character, Pierre Ruryk on the matter of the Kukai Foundation getting framed for the destruction of the Woglinde. Both characters replace what were previously unnamed Galaxy Federation Parliament members in the original game.
- Richard and Hermann are now introduced in Episode I, disguised as Federation soldiers on the Durandal, and are fought as a boss.
- The vision of U-DO's awakening in the Encephalon Dive now depicts the Ω System emerging from Old Miltia.
- The Song of Nephilim and Proto Merkabah are combined into one dungeon.
- After a scripted loss against Albedo's E.S. Simeon, the party is saved when Canaan holds Albedo off in the E.S. Asher while the party goes to fight Sophie Peithos. The resulting clash causes both E.S.s Vessels of Anima to resonate.
Episode II changes[edit]
- Episode II immediately starts with Margulis and Wilhelm discussing the reported resonance between Simeon and Asher with their respective subordinates.
- Orgulla is entirely written out of the story and makes no appearances.
- The story leads right into the party's arrival on Second Miltia. The original game's prologue flashback of the Miltian Conflict is now unlocked as an optional side story after the party meets up with Canaan.
- In the side story, chaos and Canaan discuss the details of the first and second descent operations as well as Dmitri Yuriev's death after landing on Miltia.
- chaos and Canaan find an underground bunker which chaos uses to prepare for their return to Miltia 14 years later.
- When chaos and Canaan meet Jin, he makes more clear the distinction between the Y-Data and the data disk he was given.
- Jin now mentions Pellegri before his face-off against Margulis.
- Ziggy is shown to recognize something about Canaan, but is unsure of any previous relation.
- The car chase on Second Miltia has been removed. In its place, the party has to reach the E.S. Asher at an underground base so that they can intercept Richard and Hermann, who pilot Pilum and Scutum, making clear that their crafts have Vessels of Anima but have not yet become E.S.
- Before they reach Asher, Shion and KOS-MOS stay behind to hold off Richard and Hermann. However, KOS-MOS is defeated and put out of commission as a result.
- Wilhelm sends word to Helmer hoping to offer support in intercepting Richard and Hermann, so he has Miyuki Itsumi deliver E.S. Zebulun to the party.
- Miyuki now joins Shion and Allen at the Second R&D Division.
- A mysterious figure (most likely Heinlein) is now present in a meeting that was originally between only Margulis and Sellers.
- A conversation between Margulis and Albedo foreshadows the reawakening of Dmitri Yuriev.
- After Jin and Shion's fight during dinner with Jr. and chaos, Shion goes out for a night walk and runs into Allen. The two share a heart-to-heart where Allen talks about his childhood and tells Shion not to invalidate herself.
- KOS-MOS no longer joins the party when they dive into MOMO's Subconscious Domain.
- During the Dive, Albedo is shown physically assaulting a fellow U.R.T.V. in person rather than in the U-DO Simulator.
- Sakura Mizrahi dies during a training mission with the U.R.T.V.s. At this point, it's implied that Albedo was responsible.
- A past conversation between Helmer and Dmitri delves into the political background of the Miltian Conflict.
- The Winter section of the Subconscious Domain is replaced with a flashback of the Miltian Conflict from the U.R.T.V.s' perspectives.
- Citrine is shown to have joined the other U.R.T.V.s when they attempt to destroy U-DO in the Song of Nephilim.
- Albedo takes on his child appearance when he fights against the party.
- When Albedo's trap is set in motion, Sakura's lingering consciousness speaks to Jr. and MOMO, and saves MOMO from having her mind destroyed by the forceful extraction of the Y-Data.
- Gaignun is now shown to take on subconscious personality traits from Yuriev leading up to his transformation. To ensure the transformation goes as planned, Gaignun impulsively plans a trip to Fifth Jerusalem following a mysterious telepathic message, much to Shelley's surprise. When Yuriev awakens in Gaignun's body, Citrine welcomes him back instead of the unnamed Salvator Faction soldier from the original game. It was in fact Citrine who had sent Gaignun the telepathic message.
- After Albedo unlocks the way to Old Miltia, Second Miltia is attacked by the Gnosis, and the party has to fend them off. Here, KOS-MOS wakes up in her new chassis and summons the E.S. Dinah to help Shion in destroying the Gnosis.
- A scene on Fifth Jerusalem shows Yuriev and Citrine ordering Pierre Ruryk to lead a fleet of Federation vessels to Old Miltia. After Ruryk leaves, Gaignun wakes up wondering where he is, to which Citrine explains to him that he is to be Yuriev's new body.
- A new scene between chaos and Wilhelm takes place where chaos is given a choice between opposing Eternal Recurrence and remaining as a spectator.
- On the Dämmerung, Shion is informed by her Director that she would be transferred to Vector's Third R&D Division on Fifth Jerusalem. However, before she could make a choice on the matter, she receives a mysterious work order from Wilhelm, telling her that she, Allen, and KOS-MOS are to be loaned out to the Kukai Foundation to assist in the retrieval of the Original Zohar.
- Helmer receives a call from Yuriev requesting that he allows the passage of his fleet through Second Miltia's vicinity, and that the fleet be accompanied by an advisor of Helmer's choice. Jin, who was silently observing the call, volunteers.
- Before arriving at Old Miltia, the Elsa is blocked by a skirmish between the aforementioned Federation fleet and Immigrant Fleet forces. The party ends up using their E.S.s to clear a path for the Elsa to get through.
- Jin, acting as Ruryk's advisor, escapes before the Federation fleet is destroyed by an attack from the Ormus Stronghold. He later joins the party as a playable character inside the Stronghold.
- Albedo now appears inside the Ormus Stronghold and activates the self-destruct sequence himself. The destruction of the Stronghold propels Albedo, Richard, Hermann, and the party towards Old Miltia, ultimately separating the party from the Elsa.
- Vanderkam is now fought piloting the Proto Dora.
- The Black Testament speaks for the first time when he and the other Testaments discuss dispersing to ensure certain parties reach the Zohar as planned.
- The Black Testament goes to hold off Richard and Hermann.
- The Red Testament goes to hold off Albedo.
- The Blue Testament goes to hold off the main party in the E.S. Naphtali. Here, he crushes the Acute Neurosis Treatment Facility beneath his E.S., causing Shion's trauma to resurface.
- Margulis is now fought in Labyrinthos' main terminal room, where he tries to prevent the party from viewing the data disk backup in Canaan's memory.
- MOMO doesn't get confirmation of Joachim Mizrahi's good intentions until the party faces off against Sergius XVII.
- In the Zohar's containment room, the Blue Testament appears to goad Shion into putting Cecily and Cathe out of their misery. When she does, he shows surprise when Shion mentions Febronia's name.
- Pellegri is now fought as a boss in Labyrinthos rather than in the Ormus Stronghold. Additional dialogue between her and Jin takes place before and after the fight.
- During preparation to infiltrate the Ω System, Ziggy tells Shion about his past on Abraxas, namely about his relation to Sharon and Joaquin Rozas.
- When Albedo disintegrates in the Ω System, Jr. absorbs his molecules, allowing him to understand his motives and how Sakura really died.
- Jr. and Shion's combined rage directed at Sergius causes a reaction in the Zohar and the Vessels of Anima. However, they are both able collect themselves and prevent the worst-case scenario.
- Proto Ω is fought in the E.S.s rather than fighting Sergius on foot like in the original game.
- The Testaments kill Sergius like in the original game, but rather than disintegrating him, they force Proto Ω to overheat and burn him to death while he pilots it.
- KOS-MOS no longer uses the Tertiary Weapons System inside of the Ω System. Now, as the party escapes from the Ω System, KOS-MOS uses the Tertiary Weapons System to suppress the spreading Space-Time Anomaly (this is most likely done to better match the vision seen by the party in Episode I).
- With the Durandal's absence, Juli Mizrahi now helps repair Ziggy over a U.M.N. call on the Elsa.
- Ziggy now tells Jr. about his connection to the Black Testament.
- Jr. attempts to go to the Space-Time Anomaly to fight Albedo alone, but the party now stops him and convinces him to let them join.
- In the Space-Time Anomaly, the party fights against three different incarnations of Albedo. Namely, him as a child, him as an adult, and him piloting the E.S. Simeon. Dialogue between the party supports the idea that these are "parts" of Albedo that he has abandoned.
- After the final fight against Albedo, a flashback shows Sakura's death. During their training mission at the Yuriev institute, Albedo attempted contact with U-DO. Sakura tried to stop him to save his life, but was exposed to U-DO's energy as a result. In the end, Albedo blamed himself for her death.
- Jr., having learned of Yuriev's return and heard Albedo's warning, now shows clear suspicion of Gaignun in the ending sequence.
- A new scene in the ending sequence features a conversation between Margulis and a mysterious figure (likely Heinlein) that foreshadows events in Episode III.
Additional side stories[edit]
- Gaignun is given a side story that depicts him purchasing an antique gun for Jr. on an online auction.
- Shion has an optional side story that depicts her perspective of the KOS-MOS Archetype's malfunction.
- Shion has a second optional side story that depicts her time starting out at Vector Industries and her growing relationship with Kevin Winnicot.
- This side story includes a scene that later appears in Episode III. Specifically, the flashback where Kevin gives Shion his mother's necklace.
- Cumin gets her own side story that details Sellers' and Albedo's escape from the destruction of Miltia during the Miltian Conflict.
- Allen has an optional side story that depicts his time starting out at Vector, as well as his perspective of the KOS-MOS Archetype's malfunction.
- Hammer has a brief side story that explains the Elsa's perspective following the destruction of the Ormus Stronghold.
Gameplay[edit]
Trivia[edit]
- Xenosaga I & II is the very last Namco game ever released. It released just a single day before Namco and Bandai merged to form Namco Bandai on 31 March 2006.